Journalists shot, attacked covering clashes in Odessa

New
York, May 5, 2014--At least three journalists were shot over the weekend and others
assaulted while covering deadly clashes between pro-Russia activists and their
opponents in Odessa, southern Ukraine, according to news reports and a local
press freedom group. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ukrainian
authorities to stand by their declared commitment to ensure
journalists' safety and hold those responsible to account.

"The threats to
journalists trying to work in Ukraine continue to spread and multiply," CPJ
Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said. "We again call
on all sides in the clashes to respect the civilian role of journalists, and
for Ukrainian authorities to ensure that perpetrators of attacks on the press
are held to account to the full extent of the law."

More
than 40 people died over the weekend during violent clashes between pro-Russia
activists and supporters of Ukraine, according to local and international news reports.

The
Kiev-based Institute for Mass Information (IMI), a local press freedom group,
reported that three local journalists sought medical help after being shot. On
Friday, Oleg
Konstantinov,
chief editor of news website Dumskaya was shot in the back, arm, and leg, and Anton Dotsenko, a journalist for local
news website Timer, was shot in his
arm. Neither could identify the assailants, reports said. Pyotr Rakul, reporter for
online news portal Info-Center, was shot in his left leg on Sunday. According
to a report by Info-Center, Rakul was shot by a
local police officer despite wearing a yellow vest marked "Press." It is
unclear if Rakul's attacker was identified and apprehended.

According
to IMI, at least two other journalists were physically attacked while reporting
on the clashes. IMI said Dotsenko's
colleague at Timer, Anna Levchenko,
was hit on her arms and legs by rocks thrown by both sides of the clashes on
Friday. On Sunday, pro-Russia activists roughed up Nataliya
Tarasovskaya, journalist for the independent broadcaster Channel 5, and her
cameramen as the TV crew was about to start reporting on air, news reports said.

In
a statement on April 26,
Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, instructed law enforcement
agencies to ensure journalists' safety during security operations in eastern
Ukraine. In the days since he issued the decree, violence against journalists
has spread to other regions of the country.

The
press freedom climate in Ukraine has rapidly deteriorated in recent months, and violent attacks
against local and international reporters have
continued. Journalists have been abducted and obstructed, according to CPJ
research. The attacks escalated after former Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych
fled the country, and spread to theeastern and southern regions after Russia annexed Crimea, where multiple
anti-press violations have also been documented. Following the Crimea
annexations, armed pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine attacked
government buildings, seized key junctions, and clashed with Ukrainian
troops. In the process, journalists, both local and international, have been
caught between the clashing parties and treated as enemies, traitors, and bargaining
chips.